Detroit Groundskeeper Fired for Turning in Gun He Found on the Job

A groundskeeper for the Department of Public Services in Michigan was fired after more than two decades of service for turning in a gun that he found while mowing a lawn.

Earlier this month, John Chevilott was working with his crew in a neighborhood in Detroit when he spotted a loaded handgun on the grass.

“It was damaged, so it could’ve went off. Surprisingly, it didn’t kill the guy on the mower,” Chevilott explained to My Fox Detroit.

He carefully picked it up and waited for a police car to come by so they could turn it in. But the police never came, so Chevilott finished his work day, and drove the gun to a nearby police department and handed it over.

Police told him that the gun was stolen and he did the right thing by turning it in, but apparently his employers at the Wayne County Department of Public Services disagreed. They fired Chevilott for violating policy forbidding employees from possessing weapons on work property.

Um what?

Cheviott gave the very logical explanation: “I’ve never seen a policy on what to do if we find a gun out here. So, all I did was secure the situation to make sure nobody else got hurt or killed,” he said.

The labor union Local 101 has filed a grievance on his behalf. Supporters have also started a Facebook page and a Change.org petition in an effort to help Chevilott get his job back.

Have you ever been in a situation where you were punished for trying to do the right thing?